Gyronotus kearneyorum Deschodt & Davis, 2019

Deschodt, Christian M. & Davis, Adrian L. V., 2019, New southern African species and a revalidation in the dung beetle genus Gyronotus van Lansberge, 1874 (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with an updated key, Zootaxa 4624 (2), pp. 275-282 : 279-281

Gyronotus kearneyorum Deschodt & Davis , new species

( Figs. 1B , 3 )

Type material. Holotype, female: “RSA: Mpumalanga Prov., | Mount Sheba , Alt : 1920m | 24°55’53”S 30°42’30”E | 27.iii.2014, T. Cronje ” (TMSA) .

Description of the holotype, female.

Size. Length 12.5 mm and width 8.9 mm with head extended (not deflexed).

Habitus. Body shape ovoid. Black in appearance.

Head. Tip of clypeus bidentate, separated by a wide “U” shaped depression. Right denticle of holotype broken off. Surface densely punctate, punctures closer together than their diameters. Clypeogenal sutures indistinct nearly straight. Frontogenal suture clearly visible only at external third, middle third not visible. Antennae orange brown. Thorax. Pronotal disc densely punctate, punctures round to slightly ovoid and never touching, separated by about one puncture diameter. Lateral margin curved. Prosternum with medium sized punctures that are separated by about one puncture diameter. Mesosternum with smaller punctures frontally, larger anteriorly; punctures separated by less than one puncture diameter. Metasternum with small punctures up to two times further apart than their diam- eter. Surfaces of all thoracic sternites otherwise shagreened. Mesometasternal suture clear, medially almost straight but slightly curved externally. Elytra. Interstriae punctate, punctures small and non-setigerous, separated by more than two puncture diameters. Surface otherwise shagreened. Striae faint and narrow with small punctures that are spaced three to five puncture diameters.

Pygidium. Faintly punctate, punctures of moderate size about one puncture diameter apart, otherwise shagreened giving a dull appearance.

Distribution. Gyronotus kearneyorum Deschodt & Davis , new species occurs in moist, high-altitude grassland in the Mount Sheba Nature Reserve.

Etymology. This new species is named in honour of James Cecil Kearney and his wife Anna Catharina Kearney who successfully applied for their farms to be proclaimed a Nature Reserve, eventually becoming the current Mount Sheba Nature Reserve.

Diagnosis. The elytra of this species bear scattered short setae (only visible at x10 or higher magnification), thus, separating it from Gyronotus schuelei , in which the elytra are completely glabrous.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Gyronotus van Lansberge, 1874 species, dorsal view. A, Gyronotus ovalis Deschodt & Davis, new species; B, Gyronotus kearneyorum Deschodt & Davis, new species; C, Gyronotus dracomontanus Deschodt & Davis, new species; D, Gyronotus pumilus (Boheman, 1857); E, Gyronotus marginatus Péringuey, 1888. Scale bar = 2.0 mm.

FIGURE 3. Map showing the distribution of nine South African and eSwatini Gyronotus van Lansberge, 1874 species.